In vitro cytotoxicity assessment of carbonaceous gels for bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

The current work aimed to elucidate the potential applications of the carbonaceous gels and assess the in vitro cytotoxicity of these gels when suspended in a culture medium and exposed to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Cellular viability, cell cycle distribution, apoptotic cell death, and mitochondrial membrane potential in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells co-incubated with different concentrations of carbonaceous gels (0.1, 1, 10, 50, and 100 μg/mL) were evaluated. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were used to investigate apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. The expression of associated apoptotic proteins was analysed using Western Blot. Although the co-incubation of carbonaceous gels did not significantly affect cell viability, high dosages (100 μg/mL) of these gels led to cellular dysfunction. Specifically, cells exposed to high concentrations of these gels exhibited G2-phase arrest and increased levels of reactive oxygen species. However, the reported impacts did not cause considerable cell death. At the same time, carbonaceous gels did not significantly induce apoptosis. Compared to other carbon nanomaterials, carbonaceous gels' biotoxicity was relatively low, suggesting their potential for various biological applications. Nonetheless, caution should be exercised when considering the concentration of carbonaceous gels for future medical applications.